RM 7 - Patchouli Oud Vanilla
Rosendo Mateu Olfactive Expressions (2021)

Appealing chewy rose with a good dash of soapy cardamom to give it a comforting, pudding-like feel. Sure, it has the expected fine, powdered woods at the back, but the overall impression is creamy, as much gustatory as it is olfactory, before a few green shoots start to poke through. Not extraordinary, but deeply satisfying nonetheless.

Rosendo Mateu Nº 7 Patchouli, Oud, Vanilla opens with a blast of rose, carnation, and jasmine. Within minutes, a judicious honied, syrupy sweetness emerges, reading almost like saffron. This opening recedes after about fifteen minutes as a stout yet rounded forest-floor oud accord and a soft, cocoa-powder patchouli rise to form the heart—an earthy, woody, chocolate-tinged patchouli that characterizes the rest of the wear. I don’t clearly register vanilla or benzoin on their own, but their combined resinous depth is evident from this middle stage onward, lending warmth and softness to the patchouli–oud backbone.

After the short-lived, bombastic opening, the perfume settles into a largely subtle profile without dramatic head-to-base shifts. Instead, the elements gently undulate: syrupy rose, carnation, or jasmine appear into the second and even third hour, resting on a consistently resin-warm base of earthy woods and patchouli.

Comparisons to Coromandel, Richwood, Psychedelique, and even Black Orchid make sense in terms of patchouli treatment and earthy floral sweetness. I’m less convinced by frequent comparisons to YSL M7, as I get none of the orange, myrrh, and dry smoky cedar that define that fragrance for me.

Longevity is around eight hours for me with soft projection after the initially loud but very brief floral opening. A sophisticated, comfortably unisex wear, RM7 is a patchouli-forward perfume I return to often—especially in cooler weather and in the evening.

I haven't sampled much from the late Rosendo Mateu's brand, but No. 7 was on my radar due to comparisons to Chanel's Coromandel. Having experienced No. 7 now, I must say those comparisons were more misleading than helpful. There are aspects of No. 7 that very distantly recall Coromandel, but this warm, sweaty interpretation of patchouli-vanilla is ultimately quite a different fragrance.

The opening offers pronounced animalic tones amidst a burst of smoky, earthy patchouli paired with slightly syrupy-floral sweetness. It's a bit weird and provocative, but it's not quite avant-garde. In its mushroomy-floral qualities, No. 7 recalls the truffle-and-florals accord of Tom Ford Black Orchid (which, despite its success, still feels like quite a strange creation), and the animalic spices make me think of Byredo Tobacco Mandarin. There are some echoes of the smoky earthiness of Black Afghano, too.

After a few hours, No. 7 loses its aggressiveness, and the chocolatey patch softens into the animalic vanilla to create a warm earthiness, like cacao-dusted forest floor. That's when I like this best.